NCAC NEWS(Vol.8,No.3)
INDEX
Results of Product Tests
- Food Products that Claim to Provide Nutrients such as Vitamins and Minerals
- 28-inch Wide TV with Built-in BS Tuner
- Environmentally-Friendly Apparel
CONTENTS
10 Characteristics in Consumer Counseling in 1996
At NCAC, we have collected consumer counseling cases that were received at more than 330 consumer information centers and 20 cooperating hospitals across Japan though the PIO-NET (Practical Living Information Online Network System). More than 270,000 cases are directed here annually (A total of 2,100,000 cases have been received). Based on this information, we have identified 10 categories with high numbers of cases, or particularly notable in the field of counseling for some other reason.
1. High Growth Rate of Consumer Counseling Cases in the Last Year
The number of counseling cases for 1996 as of the end of October was about 220,000. Compared to the same time period of 1995, this is an increase of 18.3%, so the high rate of growth is continuing.
2. In the Period of More than a Year since the PL Law Took Effect, Injury and Hazard Cases Increased Rapidly
Out of the total number of counseling cases, those related to injuries and hazards increased sharply by 41.0% from 1995. In particular, injury cases shot up dramatically by 52.2%. It can be inferred that as a result of the enforcement of the PL Law (July 1,1995), the heightened safety awareness of consumers is reflected in these figures.
3. Jelly With "Konnyaku" Results in 6 Deaths!
There have been frequent accidents where people suffocate to death by eating "one-bite" jelly with konnyaku (a kind of paste made from the elephant foot plant, whose main ingredient is glucomannan), especially among infants, young children and the elderly. NCAC gave consumers advice on prevention of such accidents and requested that makers make product improvements. However, these accidents continued to occur in 1996, and the total number of accidents of this type reported to NCAC came to 31, including 6 deaths (Out of these six, one occurred in 1995.) This is the first instance in which a large number of deaths due to the same type of food was reported through NCAC's "Consumer Injury Information System."
4. Number of Counseling Cases Reach Record Level
After the enforcement of the PL Law, the number of counseling cases related to automobiles has shot up drastically. In 1996, inquiries and counseling cases have been coming in faster than in 1995 and are likely to set a new record. As for the content of these cases, frequent problems are related to safety, namely, engine troubles, vehicle fires, sudden starts and uncontrolled moving, and brake problems. Also, airbags and ABS, which have been much talked about as safety equipment, have been the subjects of complaints, to a noticeable extent.
5. Consumer Troubles Related to Information Communications Are Increasing Rapidly in This Multimedia Era
In 1996, with the progress in multimedia, counseling cases related to telephone and related services concerned have skyrocketed. Content of complaints included excessive fees on telephone sex calls and international telephone charges (the users thought that they were making a domestic Telephone sex calls, when, in fact, the service was being provided via an international calls). There were many cases of this type.
Also, counseling cases related to the subscription fees for cellular (portable) and PHS phones jumped drastically. Among them were complaints such as: "I applied for a free portable phone and even paid the enrollment fee but the phone has not come yet."
6. Many Problems of Sales Methods Targeted on Certain Victims Were Found
In the past several years, many sales methods have been developed that target those who have enrolled in courses for vocational certification and esthetic services. These methods pressure persons to agree to one new contracts after another. In one serious case, a person was pressured to conclude contracts for qualification certification courses worth more than 9,000,000(yen) with 19 companies in a three-year period. As a result, it became difficult for him to make the payments. These dubious businesses use clever sales talk such as, "If you sign a contract with our company, we will get other companies to stop urging you to conclude a contract." With these words, they play into the consumer's weakness (namely, he or she is having difficulties in solving the problem), and they solicit and induce the consumers cleverly in the cases where complaints were registered.
7. Pressure Sales of Newspaper Subscriptions Continue
Complaints of unethical sales pitches for newspaper subscriptions are increasing. Pressure sales at night and for many periods, false sales pitches, getting consumers to open the house door while pretending to be a parcel delivery man or even a neighbor are some methods used. Even threatening remarks are made in some cases, such as "I will not go home until you sign a contract" and "I can cripple you." NCAC has often requested the newspaper industry to improve this situation, and in March of 1996, newspaper industry organizations such as the Japan Newspaper Association announced measures for improvements in this regard. However, at the moment, we have not seen any specific improvements.
8. New Complaints over Installment Purchase Contracts Are Increasing Rapidly
"As I was told that it is similar to installment purchase and I thoughtI applied for installment payments offered by a credit company. But, I received a request for payment from a consumer finance company." As we can see in this case, use of consumer finance that resembles a credit card company has been increasing. The loan is transferred directly to the selling business by the finance company, and so, on the surface it is not different from a contract with a credit card company. However, when consumer finance is used, even if there is a defect in the product, the consumer is not protected by being able to stop payments under the installment sales law. For this reason, these consumer finance businesses do not agree to the stopping of payment and persist in billing.
9. Increase in Problems with Foreign Language Conversation Schools and Esthetic Services
A large number of consumers suffer damages from continuous services such as foreign-language conversation schools due to bankruptcy. For this reason, the industry organizations involved established guidelines with restrictions on prepayment periods and mid-term cancellation fees in 1994 to facilitate sound business transactions.
However, even after that, we still receive complaints that long-term contracts lasting from one to three years continue to be demanded on by some companies, with the consumers forced to make a lump-sum payment of the price. In addition to complaints such as "The company refuses to accept cancellation of the contract," and "They demand a high cancellation fee," and similar troubles regarding mid-term contract, there are also troubles related to unethical sales methods.
10. A Massive Outbreak of E.Coli O157 Throughout the Country: Some Business
Methods Take Advantage of the Situation
With several fatality in Hyogo Prefecture in May of 1966, the massive food poisoning by E.Coli 0157 produced roughly 10,000 victims including more than 10 deaths, and shook the entire country. Counseling cases and inquiries related to hygiene and medical handling of E.Coli O157 were handled by medical institutions and public health centers, while NCAC and consumer information centers across country received 180 cases by the end of October of 1996 regarding business practices that took advantage of consumers' anxieties about food poisoning by E.Coli O157.
RESULTS OF PRODUCT TESTS
Food Products that Claim to Provide Nutrients such as Vitamins and Minerals
Recently we have seen a large number of confectionery items and other food products marketed that claim to be balanced, nutritional food and tablets that are said to be nutritional supplements, and that appeal to health conscious people of today using terms such as nutritional balance, vitamins, and minerals. Therefore, we tested to see what kinds of nutritional ingredients they contain and examine their nutritional balance.
1. General Nutrition Type
This type of product contains various vitamins and minerals, and comes with the form and taste of cookies. It is usually eaten instead of a normal breakfast. Relative to other types, it contains nearly a portion equivalent to one meal based upon the minimum daily requirement of calcium and iron (or about one-third of the daily required intake of these ingredients for women aged 19 and 39). In this respect, it more or less satisfies the claim of nutritional balance.
But, they tends to be unnecessarily large amounts of vitamins; for example, some products in this category contain nearly four days' requirement for vitamin D in one serving.
As a meal, these products have a shortage of energy and protein and an excess of fat. Thus, the overall nutritional balance is not satisfactory.
2. Nutritional Supplements Focused on a Specific Nutrient
The diet of many Japanese tends to be especially short of calcium and iron. We investigated tablets and biscuits that are aimed at supplementing these nutrients. First, with regard to calcium, some brands contain only 200 mg, while other brands contain as much as 1,000 mg, which is well above the minimum daily requirement of 600 mg for Japanese. Thus, these products are satisfactory for supplementing calcium. However, if a person just takes in a lot of calcium mainly through these products, they may not take in enough magnesium, which needs to be taken proportionately to the amount of calcium taken. Also, a number of brands contain certain amounts of vitamin D. But some of them contain too much.
The brands differ in the amount of iron they contain. Some brands provide the minimum daily requirement, while others provide only one-thirteenth of the minimum daily requirement, even though the brand name includes "Fe." With these items, users can not expect any effectiveness from the supplementary iron.
3. Advice to Consumers
- General Nutrition Type:
- This type of product cannot substitute for a wholesome meal by itself. Users should limit use to supplement the type of vitamins andor mineral that they think they are short of.
- Nutritional Supplement Type Focused on a Specific Nutrient:
- Vitamins and minerals are not a case the more, the better. In particular, taking excessive amounts of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and D can damage one's health.Because many of these brands do not show the amount of intake per serving and because they often come with yogurt and/or fruits to make them palatable, users should be careful not to eat them in excess.
- A regular,
- balanced diet is the best strategy to avoid an unbalanced intake of nutrients. You should never put too much faith in food products with nutritional elements added in artificially.
28-inch Wide TV with Built-in BS (Broadcasting Satellite) Tuner
Many wide-screen TV products are being released in the market, with the claim that the wide screen enables viewers to enjoy an exciting, dramatic picture. Recently some models come with an "autowide" (automatic width adjustment) function that adjusts the screen to the optimal width, by identifying the incoming broadcasting signal. In the background of this rush of new products, is the fact that Wide Clear Vision broadcasting (with a picture ratio of 16 horizontal * 9 vertical with an upgraded picture quality) began in some areas last year. But, most of the programs that are broadcast now come in normal ratio, namely, 4 : 3.
We tested seven brands of 28-inch wide TV with a built-in BS tuner and examined their reception capability, picture quality, and basic overall performance, as well as the "naturalness" of the wide screen, ease of use, and power consumption.
1. "Sense of presence"
Wide-picture TVs shows any scene fully to the limit of its wide screen, thereby creating a sense of presence. In the monitor tests, when people viewed Vista-size, Cinemascope-size movies and Wide Clear Vision broadcasting, they found that there was a sense of presence, and found it exciting and powerful.
2. Reception and Picture Quality
When receiving normal TV broadcasting (with a picture ratio of 4 : 3), the automatic wide function on all brands stretches the picture to the limit of the wide screen. For this reason, people in the broadcast program often seemed fat, and round items at the edge of the screen appeared crushed or pressed down,all of which gave an unnatural feeling. At times, parts of the top and bottom of the picture were missing.
3. Sound Quality
Sometimes the sound came out indistinct and lacked clarity and power. For TV sets of this class, they were not satisfying in terms of sound quality.
4. Advice to Consumers
When consumers want to purchase a wide-screen TV, they should consider both the results of this test and characteristics of wide TV, and also the present situation in that only a few programs are broadcast in Wide Clear Vision. Also, for any given size, the picture on wide-screen TVs appears to be smaller and less powerful than conventional TVs. For example, the vertical length of a 28-inch wide-TV is about 8 to 9 cm shorter than a conventional 29-inch type. Because of this factor, we recommend that if you buy a wide-screen TV, you buy one with the about the same vertical length as that of your current conventional TV.(For example, if you have a conventional 21-inch TV, buy a 28-inch wide TV, and if you have a conventional 29-inch TV, then, buy a 36-inch wide TV.) However, keep in mind that a larger-size wide TV will be that much more expensive, and the horizontal length will be larger.
Environmentally-Friendly Apparel
Apparel is a field in which users select items for purchase based upon his or her own design and color sense. More recently, however, some products that claim to be environmentally friendly have been marketed. We carried out a study of these products to see how they are environmentally friendly and examine quality as apparel and ease of care.
1. What are environmentally friendly apparel?
(1) Products that use materials that have a minimum (negative) impact on the environment. For example, products that make use of the following materials:
- Polyester fabrics:
- Fabrics manufactured through recycling of polyethylene (P.E.T.) bottles and videotape.
- Recycled cotton yarn:
- Cotton yarn made from cotton bits that have fallen off in the yarn production process and cutting process.
- Vegetable dyed fabric:
- Fabrics that use a vegetable dye than a chemical dye produced from petroleum.
- Organic material:
- Cotton and hemp grown organically and wool from sheep raised on organic pastures.
(2) Products that were manufactured so as to minimize their negative impact (burden) on the environment.
For example, some products (undyed fabrics) whose manufacturing process excludes dyeing processing that uses many chemicals and water, said to produce the greatest amount of environmental pollution, and products that recycle solvents during spinning such as "Tencel®" "Riyocel®".
(3) Products that minimize impact (burden) on the environment in waste disposal.
For example:
- Biodegradable, such as Tencel, Riyocel, and biodegradable polyester.
- Buttons made of fabrics and core fabric that can be recycled and 100% nylon buttons.
2. Many Labels Are Mainly Image
The tests covered 13 brands that claim to be attentive to the environment, including fleece jackets, white shirts, sweater, skirts, and T-shirts. However, most of the labels consisted mainly of "ecology" and "friendly to the earth" in a vague sense. There was not much detail on the mixture ratio of recycled materials and how specifically the products are specifically gentle to the environment in an easy-to-understand manner.
3. Quality as Apparel Goods
There were hardly any noticeable differences between the apparel that claimed to be attetive to the environment, and conventional products in terms of appearance, touch, dyeing, etc. This is one quality which users can consider as an alternative when they select apparel.
